Thursday, October 18, 2012

ON THE ROAD TO GALWAY

I have been neglecting my blog
for a month. Not purposely, of
course! I think my life has been getting
in the way of my writing. Imagine
that! My daughter is back in her college
dorm, my trip to visit my sister is over and now I am ready to think about all
things Irish again!

In my last post
my husband Ron and I were having a lovely time in County Cork visiting the
Blarney Castle, the port city of Cobh and of course the Jameson Distillery in
Midleton. But now it was time for us to
join the guided tour in Dublin. After an
uneventful but enjoyable drive back to Dublin from Cork, we joined our
wonderful tour guide Maureen from Anthony Travel. While I really enjoy discovering places on
our own, I find spending some time with tour guides of the native country to be
very educational and time well spent.

Maureen was a
delightful woman who knew so much about the history and culture of
Ireland. She and our bus driver Paddy
had a great rapport. Who else should be
introducing you to the beauty and culture of Ireland but two folks named
Maureen and Paddy? Maureen taught us
some words in Gaelic - “kell” means small church, “bock” means hill, “bally”
means town, and the all important “mna” for ladies’ restroom. She also taught us “cog mo thoin” which means
“kiss my ***”.

On our way to
Galway, we saw strongholds that were built in the 15th century for
the English landowners to protect themselves and their families from the
natives. There is about 1500 of them all
over the country of Ireland. We made a “comfort
stop” (love their terminology!) in the town of Moate. Maureen explained that we
would be there for 30 minutes so that we should feel free to have a cup of
coffee. Ron and I stopped visited
briefly a church – of course, it was named St. Patrick’s – and took some
photos.

After
taking photos and needing a comfort stop, Ron had the idea we should stop in a
pub – our first Irish pub! So, of
course, we walked into Bo Allen’s pub and ordered our first pint of Guinness on
Irish soil. The guidebooks were right –
the Guinness tastes so much better here in Ireland! We looked around in the pub and guess
what? At least 7 other people from our
tour had the same idea. We all agreed we
could take our time drinking our Guinness because the bus wouldn't leave
without all of us!

Our tour continued on its way to
Galway … we crossed over the Shannon River, the longest river in Ireland. Houseboating on the Shannon is a popular way
to “holiday”. I think it would be
awesome to visit all the little towns along the river. Put that on my bucket list! We also learned that the rock walls we saw
all over Ireland are actually pieces of rock stuck one on top of the
other. There is no glue or cement holding
it together.

After a 2 ½ hour trip from
Dublin, we arrived in Galway and checked into the Galway Radisson Blu Hotel which
is located across from the Lough Atalia.
Ron and I walked into town – about a mile or so – and with the help of a
very thoughtful Irish young lady found Quay Street. We ate dinner at McDonagh’s Seafood
House. Ron ate mussels (his starter
plate was huge) and fish and chips (I think that is a prerequisite for
visiting Ireland) while I enjoyed my salmon entree. It was another wonderful day in the Emerald
Isle!

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Welcome to Home of the Sherlocks blog

Wanting to share my research of the Irish side of my family -- the Sherlocks (from County Meath) and the Chambers (from County Mayo) -- with family members and others, I thought a blog might be the perfect vehicle. I welcome your comments and stories.I have decided to increase the breadth of my blog to also include my German relatives -- the Nebgens and Homrichs. I am hoping that I am not breaking any blogging rules with this increase in scope. It possibly may even make it easier for family members to follow along. Here's to hoping that it turns out well!

Search My Blog for surnames, places, etc. We could be "long lost" cousins!